May 8, 2011

Endorphins Cure All

Nothing wipes away a rough week faster than a weekend on the bike. The sleep catch-up started on Friday and continued into Saturday. The sleep deprivation began again on Sunday, but for a good cause. On a bit of a whim, I signed up for the inaugural Gran Fondo New York, but since my longest ride thus far has been 45 miles, I did the sane thing and opted for the Medio course, a 65 mile ride on some pretty aggressive hills. I met up with a friend and was feeling rather smug as I clipped along in a paceline with thousands of other cyclists. But about 25 miles in, which was 40 miles with my commute from Brooklyn, I started to fade. I continued to enjoy it, however, and realized how much I've missed being on my bike. After 83.12 miles I reached the end.

I've been beat all day, but beat in a good way. The exhaustion from training is different than the exhaustion from stress, it's almost refreshing. A meal, a nap, a snack, a pedi with leg massage and another meal later I feel pretty incredible and am sure I'll sleep well tonight.

With a couple missed workouts and a couple detours, how did my week turn out?

The Numbers:

Swim - 2,650 yards, 51:44 (I know, Alcatraz is just around the corner...)

Bike - 141.35 miles, 9:25:23

Run - 12.02 miles, 1:46:31

I have a light block at the beginning of the week for business travel and have a feeling my body will thank me. Hopefully this will be a better week.